The batter must use common sense, and not let the pitcher fool her. To make every hit count is the rule for the batter; thus she must judge the ball, hit to a favorable spot in the field, working with the object of advancing such of her teammates already on the bases. The base runner should always be wideawake, ready to take advantage of any opportunities offered to her. The fielders must be quick to judge a ball, quick to catch it, and throw immediately to the necessary spot to head off any incipient scoring by a base runner. A quick, well-played game of indoor base ball is lots of fun. INDOOR BASE BALL RULES. THE DIAMOND OR INFIELD. The game is played on an indoor floor. The diamond or infield is marked out at one end, the remaining floor is the outfield. At each of the four corners of the diamond is a base, usually made of canvas and half filled with sand. The distance along the sides is 27 feet if possible. There should be a box for the pitcher, 7 by 3 feet, and 23 feet distant from center of home base. A batsman’s box, one on each side of the home base, six inches distant from the base. The boxes are each 4 by 3 and extend a foot in front of a line drawn through center of the base and 3 feet behind. Foul lines should be drawn from the home base to first and from third to home, outside the side lines, so that the bases are inside the foul lines. THE BALL AND BAT. The regulation indoor base ball and bat are used. THE PLAYERS. There may be seven to nine players on a side, placed in position by the captain. There must be one player who stands within the pitcher’s box and pitches the ball according to rule. A substitute may be put in to run for a player by consent of both captains. THE GAME. The game has nine innings for each side. If there is a tie the game is continued by innings until one side has won, or game is discontinued. Choice of innings is decided by the toss of a coin. THE SCORE. One run, i. e., one point to the side making the run, is scored when a base runner runs to and touches each of the three bases and touches home base before three players of her side are out. THE PITCHER. The pitcher delivers the ball with the arm parallel to the body. The pitcher may not take more than one step. THE BALL. The ball is good if it passes over any portion of the home plate no lower than the batsman’s knee and no higher than her shoulder. It is counted a balk by the pitcher if she makes any motion to deliver the ball without doing so or holds the ball so long as to delay the game. An illegal ball is delivered by the pitcher if she steps out of box or takes more than one step while pitching that ball. A dead ball is a pitched ball which strikes the batter. A batted ball is fair unless it strikes outside the foul line first. A blocked ball is a ball batted or thrown that is stopped or handled by a person not playing. The ball is returned to the pitcher and runners remain on the same bases. A strike is: